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Tuesday, 18 April 2017

Creative, Money Saving Ideas for Drawstring Cords in Bags

Drawstring bags have so many uses and can be made from scraps of fabric. Today I'm going to show you some of the items I have used for the cords, effectively bringing the cost down, in some cases, to next to nothing.

Shoe laces - I found a couple of unopened packets of brown shoe laces at the back of my wardrobe.

Stretch Cord and beads - I can't even remember what the purple cord came from, but I found it in my box of cords that have been salvaged from one place or another.

I have a shoebox full of cords of varying colours and sizes. Some started life as cords in garments, bags or home decor. They're an obvious choice to keep for future use in drawstring bags. Others were originally intended for something totally different, but with a little vision, it's easy to see how they can be adapted and turned into cords. They all sit in my shoebox, waiting for just the right drawstring bag to be threaded into.

What do you like to use for the drawstrings in bags - whether it be something that's salvaged, bought or repurposed?

21 comments:

I like rattail - it feels nice and silky, and slides easily in bags. I buy it on Ebay because they have all kinds of colours, and I can get 100 yard spools of my favourite colours. I also get it at Hobby Lobby in the States, when it's on sale. I like repurposing the ribbons that come on pre-packaged FQ sets and other sewy fabricy items, and as you've probably noticed, when someone cleans out/organizes their sewing room and gifts the "extras" - there are generally several items that can be used for tying things, that are totally different than anything we might have in our own stash :D Sharesies for the win!

Great ideas! I don't have enough of a fabric stash to have a lot of this, but wouldn't selvages/selvedges be useful as drawstring? (Guess that's similar to your fabric cutoffs.) And I've always found that paracord is relatively inexpensive to buy at discount stores.

Some great ideas here. Kinda like thw frayed look. Have to say that I love the bags in the Buddha fabric. That would have been perfect for my meditation room cushions. Shall have to go searching for some of that fabric!

Wonderful! I bought some cording that ended up being too big and never considered using it for drawstrings for bags since my intention was a drawstring for a skirt! Thank you so much. It's nice to have options to keep the cost down. It defeats the purpose of sewing sometimes if you have to spend a lot to make something.

I recently made a drawstring bag with my daughter. We started at 9pm because she wanted to take it on a field trip the next day! The only thing I could think of at that hour was some extra clothesline we had in the cellar. It worked pretty well! I had seen your post so I wanted to come back here and look for more ideas.

Brilliant ideas, I'm guessing your lace and ribbon stash is probably as big as mine (never knowing throw away something you could use!) The only thing I can think to add is the cord from old curtains - it seems to last for ever even when curtains have fallen apart from sun damage.

The variety of colors, fabrics, and designs in your drawstring bag collection is quite impressive! These look like they're so useful for a multitude of purposes. The variety of drawstring materials and sources is frugal and creative. Re-using strong, colorful ribbons and other cords is so clever!

Each bag looks unique and different, I love all your fabrics and the ideas for the drawstring. I'm guessing an old thin scarf would work too, or I could go really rustic on the farm here some baler twine! You've got me thinking now. Great inspiration in this post.

Thanks for the idea! I make things to be sold in the Tehachapi Depot Railroad Museum gift shop. Using train fabric and putting a cute tag on it that says, "Sleepover Bag" or something like that would be a good gift.